My sister and I were having a day out and driving along the lanes of Shropshire and Montgomeryshire between Ludlow and Newtown. We went to Knighton and found the graves of our grandparents in the churchyard, cleaned it up a bit and then hopped back in the car towards Clun. The lanes of this part… Read More »
I have been house sitting in Wiltshire and spent a week in a village which is more reminiscent of the Cotswolds. The villages along the Avon river are stunning. The quiet high streets are lined with thatched and half-timbered cottages which you could imagine have been here since the beginning of time. All around these… Read More »
The National Trust is a much loved friend to those who like to visit stately homes, industrial sites and the UK’s heritage. I had been to Styal Mill many years before when I lived in Altrincham. Maybe it’s because I grew up in a converted (and cold) woolen mill in Wales that I like industrial… Read More »
I was walking to work down the steep hill into Morogoro town. It’s a steep hill and at the bottom there is always a group of women with baskets of bananas. They’re waiting for buyers to come. And they come, al through the day, on motorbikes, bajaj and vans to buy directly from the producer.… Read More »
Kilwa is famous for its ruins and it’s nice for a change to take in something other than lions or a beach. So when my Turkish friend suggested joining them and their friends in Kilwa for a few days I was happy to go along. You have to have a guide to get to the… Read More »
Last night, the newly formed Shanghai Literacy Society held the launch of several books both dealing with the same subject – Shanghai during the war years. Betty Barr is a long term resident of China and well known amongst the expat population here. She has a very interesting story to tell and this, her latest… Read More »
It was dismal day in Shanghai and options to stay warm and dry beyond walking around a shopping mall are few. So it was that we ended up at the Shanghai Urban Planning Museum. Now if ever there was a way of putting people off going to a museum it would be to call it… Read More »